Turning steering wheel and lock



June 5, 1923. "1,457,133

C. FREDERICKSON I TURNING ,STEERING WHEEL AND LOCK Origin Filed Feb. 10, 1921 H 7 WW ttomwg Patented June 5, 1923.

UNITED. STATES PATE 'NTE oFFic e CLAY'I'QN E. FREDERICKSON,. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' TURNING srnnnmewnnnn Ann 'tocxf Application fiied retmar io, 1921; Serial No. 443,901. Renewed March,19,,1923 I To all whom it may concern: I c

Be it known that I, CLAYTON FRED- ERICKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new-and useful Improvements in Turning Steering Wheels and Locks of whlch the following is a specification. My invention has for its primary ob ect to provide a lock for-automobile steerlng gears of the typefhaving sun and planet gears contained in a box below the steerlng wheel and at the top of the steering post or column and although my invention is espe- 18 cially adapted for thistype of steering gear, it willbe quite obvious that its use is not limited thereto.

Heretofore in automobiles of the type described, locks have been provided for securing the steering wheel against turning, when desired, but they have notbeen effective as an anti-theft lock because of the fact that by unscrewing the cap of the gear box-and removing the planet gears, then replacing 8B the solid gear, the car could be towed away; this objection my inventionhasbeen designed to avoid. Generically, the invention consists of an attachment designed to be placed on the 80 steering spindle in lieu'of the old steering Wheel, which is removed and a new steering wheel is hinged to the attachment'and held in the normal or running position by a bolt which may be moved to release the connection, when it is desired to lock the car, i. e., to tilt the steering wheel over and lock it down to a clamp or lug on the steering post; the locking connection between the steering wheel and the lug is a rigid one so as to prevent the raising of the attachment, which will be necessary in order to unscrew the gear case cover and also to prevent the removal of the attachment from the spindle if the top nut is taken off.

In its subordinate nature, the invention also includes those novel details of construction, combination andarrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described, then be specifically pointed out in the appended claims, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention, in use, in the normal position.

Fi re 2 is a similar elevation of the parts in the locked position.

the wheel may be tilted over from the position shown in Figure l to that shown in Figure'B is a detail perspective view of the steering wheel attachment. 1

Figure 4 is a detailperspe'ctive view of the lug clampjthat goes on'the steering post. Figure 5'is a detail elevation showing the holding bolt that securesthe' wheel inthe normal position. i v i Figure 6 is a crossfs'ection showing the manner iii-which the holding bolt operates: so In'the drawingsfin which like numerals and letters of referencedesignate'like parts in all of the figures,1 represents the steering post, 2 the gearbox, 3' the gspin'dle' to which theusual steering wheel is secured and 4 the top nut which holds the steering "wheel on the spindle. f 1 f When. my invention is 'to'be applied, the old steering wheel is removed and ,an attachment 5 is substituted therefor. This attachment has a hole to fit on the spindle 3'in' the same manner as did the old steering wheel and ittoo' is held by the tophut 4 which is replaced: L i i The attachment '5 has an'arm or bracket portion 6 that extends radially. f Q p The new wheel 7 hasan arm 8 which is hinged to the arm or bracket portion '6 by a suitable rivet pin 9. It also has a bifurcation 10 with aseat 11 which cooperates with the projection 12 of the attachment 5, the seat resting onfthetop of theprojection 12, while the bifurcation 10straddles thesame. The projectionllfl has .a semi-circular'recess 13 to cooperate withth'e' bolt 14 that is mounted in the bifurcation 10 and has a handle 15 by which it may be turned.

The bolt has a removed portion 16, which, when the handle is raised, will register with the recess 13 to release the connection so that Figure 2.

One arm of the wheel spider has a slot 17 to receive the lug or car 18 of a clamp which fits on the steering post beneath the gear box but as close to the same as possible, so that it may not be raised higher. This lug or ear 18 is formed by the ends of the clamp 19 which consists of hard strap metal bent around the steering post with its ends secured together by a rivet 19 and projecting from the steering post to form the ears 18. The ears 18 have a hole through which a padlock 20 may be passed to secure the parts together, thus locking the wheel in the tilted 110 down position, where it bears against the steering "post and is so' shaped as to lie against the gear box, thereby holding the steering wheel against movement, when locked, and thus preventing the necessary play which would be required to lift off the attachment from the spindle should the top nut be removed. 7 I

In use, the clamp is placed on the steering post in such position that the ear 18 will point toward the front, the steering wheel being so placed that the slot 17 is in the rear (one hundred and eig ty degrees around from theear)" the driving position. Then, when it is desired to lock the machine, the steering wheel is given a halt turn and the bolt handle is raised to release it from the attachment so that the steering wheel may be swun over into engagement with the ear 18 (see igure 2}) and a' padlock is placed to secure the v parts together". i

When so secured, the frontwheels of the vehicle will'b'e turned toward one sidefor the other, preferably toward the curb, depending upon the direction in which the steering wheel is turned to locking position.

If desired, the steering Wheel may be put onso' that its slot 17 may be to the front, in which event the wheels can be locked straight ahead.

From the foregoingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construction, operation and advantages of my invention will be clear to those skilled in the art to which it apfpertains.

wear I claim is; I

l. The combination with the steering: post and "the steering s irn'clle an attachment se cured on the spind e, 'a' steering wheel hinged to "said attachmenn a releasable means "to secure said wheel and attachment together to permit hinged movement, an car on the steering post, said wheel having a slotted arm designed to hold said wheel from movement, means to lock said wheel and ear together, said attachment comprising a body having, a projection and having an arm provided with one element of a hinged joint, said wheel including a spider having another element of the hinged joint and having a bifurcated member to fit over said projection when the wheel is in the normal position, and a releasable connection between said bifurcated member and said projection to hold the wheel in the normal posi tion.

2. The combination with the steering post and the steering spindle; an attachment secured on the spindle, a steering wheel hinged to said attachment, a releasable meanstoxsecure said wheel and attachment together to permit hinged movement, an ear on the steering post, said wheel having a slotted arm designed to receive said ear, when said wheel is swung over on its hinge, to hold said wheel from movement, means to lock 7 said wheel and ear together, said attachment comprising a body having a projection and having an arm provided with one element of a hinged j'o'i'nt, said wheel including a spider having another element of the hinged joint and having a bifurcated member to fit over said projection when the wheel is in the nor mal position, and a'rel'easable connection betweensaid bifurcated member and said pro jection to hold the wheel in the normal posi' tion, said attachment, ,said ear and spider beingso relatively designed that said wheel will engage the steering post, when locked tilted, to prevent said whee-l being moved in a manner to allow said attachment to be disconnected from the steering spindle or steering post.

CLAYTON n. rnEnnRrcKsoN, 

